Greetings and salutations, hive! I’ve really missed you. I am alive and recovering from the madness of wedding/honeymoon/a hellish couple of weeks at work…and ready to begin those recaps!!

When I first started blogging, I thought I would be raring to go on recap posts…but I got the full collection of my high-res professional photos about a week ago and found myself totally overwhelmed. How to describe such days? How to wade through photos in such numbers?! It’s intimidating, to say the least.

If you’re like me, trying different food while travelling is one of the best things in the world. Mr. Horseshoe and I were pretty excited to sample regional Hawaiian delights. Here are some of my food-related highlights of our trip in no particular order.

While not pictured, we really enjoyed our visit to Costco. We were super tempted by the large, fresh, and inexpensive bowls of poke…but there’s no way the two of us could have finished a serving size that large on our own. We did end up buying a big tray of Hawaiian sweet rolls, cheese, fruit, crackers, and some other small bites I can’t quite remember. I mentioned in previous posts that having breakfast/lunches from Costco saved us quite a bit of money. I highly recommend taking a trip to Costco if you have a membership—it is well worth it!

Eagerly awaiting our scampi

Mr. & Mrs. Eel took us to Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck for lunch on the way to the North Shore. We had no idea what we were in for…and what a treat it was. Mr. Horseshoe and I shared a large order of shrimp scampi and rice. Definitely visit a shrimp truck if you’re in Oahu. While the trucks can have a bit of a line and wait for your food, it’s well worth it.

Christina and Michael were wed in an outdoor ceremony and celebrated with a reception at the moody Tooth and Nails castle and vineyard in Paso Robles, California. Keep reading to see the Tiffany blue and vino-centered details from their gorgeous rustic winery wedding.

With less than three months to the big day, I’m digging in to my diet and exercise pretty hardcore at this point.

I’ve entered into the ugly calorie-restriction phase of the diet, and so far, so good—I’ve lost about six pounds since Christmas and clothes are fitting better. Plus, I’ve actually got more energy, which goes to show…when you stop eating ALL the cookies, you actually feel better.

But along with that diet, and my six workouts a week, I’ve started something totally new—an intense (for me) beauty/skincare routine.

Got a burning question or dilemma that you’d love more opinions/advice on, but maybe don’t want to attach your name to? Whether it’s sex, in-laws, friends, spouse, money, kids, fights, etc., submit your dilemma anonymously. Current and past brides will weigh in with their take on your dilemma, and we’ll leave the comments open so the hive can weigh in as well!

To submit your Anonymous Dilemma, go to this form, fill it out, and hit submit.

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I am going to be married soon, but I am curious how many people find themselves in the same boat. I want to be a stay-at-home wife. I think the man should work and take care of all that. I am old-fashioned like that. What do you think? Should the man be obligated to work outside the home to provide for his wife?

Hive member DrunkInLove and her husband were married in a traditional Catholic ceremony and celebrated their reception at The Gallery Event Space in Kansas City, Missouri in a formal yet fun beautiful black and white reception.

Got a burning question or dilemma that you’d love more opinions/advice on, but maybe don’t want to attach your name to? Whether it’s sex, in-laws, friends, spouse, money, kids, fights, etc., submit your dilemma anonymously. Current and past brides will weigh in with their take on your dilemma, and we’ll leave the comments open so the hive can weigh in as well!

To submit your Anonymous Dilemma, go to this form, fill it out, and hit submit.

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My DH is a very outgoing, social person and has many lady friends (most he has known longer than me). Many of them are single, but I have met many of them and they do seem nice. On occasion, a few of them have stayed a night at our house. This is somewhat annoying to me, but I do feel that one night isn’t a problem.

However, one single lady in particular seems to cross the line with me. A few years ago, she wanted to see my husband, so she stayed at our house for a long weekend. I was very uncomfortable about this but respected the fact that they’ve been friends for years. To make matters worse, one night at around 2:00 AM I went to bed, and they stayed up several more hours watching TV together. This caused a huge argument after she left, and afterward my husband apologized.

The real problem now is that DH has asked if she could come stay with us for a week! I don’t feel it’s appropriate for any guest (except family) to stay more than a few days, but to have a single woman stay at our house for a week seems ridiculous. And after their past behavior together, I wouldn’t want her to stay at all! I suggested that she stay with her other friends in the area, but apparently she doesn’t want to stay with them.

I’ve expressed my concerns to my DH, but he says that I’m overreacting. He’s known this woman for several years and feels that since I know her too I shouldn’t have a problem with the situation. He also seems to believe that no one else would find a problem with the situation either. So now I’m upset not just because a single woman wants to stay at my house, but also because my DH is not taking me seriously or understanding where I am coming from.

Am I being ridiculous? Or, if not, how can I get my DH to empathize with me?

And can I just say, it took a bit of an adventure to get them there. Remember in part one where I was going with Vistaprint to do the inserts? That didn’t happen.

You see, Vistaprint ONLY has horizontal layouts available for their flat notecards. And no matter how huge/high-res my files were, they kept uploading slightly blurry. So I scrapped that idea and went with a really highly regarded local print shop instead.

And you know what? It was half the price and done quickly, and it was SO nice to work with an actual person, face to face.

So while the inserts were being printed, I went on another quest: belly bands or the equivalents to go around our pocketfolds. Mr. W and I both loved the look of laser-cut bands, but the price point was a bit ridiculous, so we tossed around a few other options—ribbons, lace, and even fancy paper—before settling on our final pick.